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CORSAIR 520watt with 480GTX....

The thing that I find funny when people say about 'It says you need a 600W PSU', is that the total output wattage is only half the story.

When I was last looking for a PSU I went to high street retailer that sells lots of unknown brand PSUs. Even their 650W PSU could not supply sufficient amps on the 12v rail to run my 4890 according to the specs.
 
[TW]Fox;18352422 said:
Because there are sub 600W PSU's which will handle said card fine, the HX520W being one of them.
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Yes, but it's a very close shave and you are left with little to no headroom for overclocking in terms of psu capacity. And from my (limited) understanding of how psu's work, running a psu at 80-90% of capacity serves to put a lot of strain on it.
 
i wouldnt, the power draw of a half decent rig with a 480gtx in is too close to that of the hx520's rated output. I know very well they can exceed their outputs - ive seen revies of the hx620 pushing 750w - but that doesnt mean id accept it.

At the very least, i'd want a good 25% of the available output free. ie, for a pc which the above graph claims draws 479w at stock, id be looking at something rated at least for 650w and ideally 700w.

the psu is the heart of the psu, dont skimp on it.....everybody will tell this yet people in this thread are recommending you stick with something that is just about on it's limits without any overclocking. They are poor recommendations and it would be wise not to listen to them.

I would not be keeping that hx520 if i planned to buy a gtx480.
 
Is that input or output wattage on that video?

If its just a normal plug-in power meter (thus input, which I suspect it is), then the actual power consumption is going to be even lower - no idea what PSU he is using, but I believe most decent ones are around 80% efficiency, which would yeild around 360W output.
 
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james.miller said:
i wouldnt, the power draw of a half decent rig with a 480gtx in is too close to that of the hx520's rated output. I know very well they can exceed their outputs - ive seen revies of the hx620 pushing 750w - but that doesnt mean id accept it.

At the very least, i'd want a good 25% of the available output free. ie, for a pc which the above graph claims draws 479w at stock, id be looking at something rated at least for 650w and ideally 700w.

the psu is the heart of the psu, dont skimp on it.....everybody will tell this yet people in this thread are recommending you stick with something that is just about on it's limits without any overclocking. They are poor recommendations and it would be wise not to listen to them.

I would not be keeping that hx520 if i planned to buy a gtx480.
Click to expand...


+1
 
MikeHiow said:
Is that input or output wattage on that video?

If its just a normal plug-in power meter (thus input, which I suspect it is), then the actual power consumption is going to be even lower - no idea what PSU he is using, but I believe most decent ones are around 80% efficiency, which would yeild around 360W output.
Click to expand...

That's what I explained in my previous post I linked to and everyone seems to be ignoring it :p
 
Someone that had a clue would be putting more concern on rating on the 12V rails vs. the amperage rating on the card ;)

(I cannot find such figures for the card, though).

From my experience though, most reputable PSUs are rated more than high enough for their given wattage.
 
MikeHiow said:
If that video is measuring input wattage, which it probably is, then there is more than 25% "free" on a 520W PSU.
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at stock only yes lol.


MikeHiow said:
Someone that had a clue would be putting more concern on rating on the 12V rails vs. the amperage rating on the card ;)

(I cannot find such figures for the card, though).

From my experience though, most reputable PSUs are rated more than high enough for their given wattage.
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i'e got plenty of 'clue':p ive owned both the 520w and the 620w HX - i know what they are capable of. they aare (or were?) very cable psu's, both of them. but the 520w isnt enough for top end cards, not if you are intending to overclock.


http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/815921-furmark-power-virus-gtx480-consumption.html

power consumption (at the wall) increased by 100w in Crysis just by overclocking the 480(!).
 
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Corsair HX520W is rated at 40A on 12V.

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